Our second-favorite guerrilla geographer, fellow Nat Geo blogger Samantha, took this up-close-and-personal image of graffiti on the Great Wall in December. Do you think this detracts from the “greatness” of the Great Wall?

How do you think it changed the experience of the graffitists?

How do you think it changed the experience of other tourists?

How do you think it changed the experience of guards, tour guides, or other people who live and work near the wall?

This graffiti was created on part of the wall that has been extensively remodeled—would your opinions change if it was on an older, more original section of the wall? Why or why not?

Would you contribute to graffiti on the Great Wall now that it’s legal? What would you write?

Enclosed spaces, such as toilet stalls and telephone booths, are commonly covered with graffiti.

Watch the video of our favorite “guerrilla geographer,” Daniel Raven-Ellison, above. Starting about 4:10, he defines “guerrilla geography” as thinking creatively about space and the way we define the world around us. At about 4:33, he even mentions “street artists” as a type of explorer or “placemaker,” trying to answer basic questions like “what’s our identity and where are we from”? (5:24) Do you think people who draw graffiti are artists? Vandals? Both?

This article from the New York Post makes a great distinction between how street artists and graffitists are perceived: “‘Street art’ is associated with whimsy and even gentrification—things the mainstream considers socially good, or at the least, nondestructive. Conversely, ‘graffiti’ is a sign of poverty, criminality and a lack of order in a space.”

Regardless, most graffiti is entirely illegal. Graffitists do not own the walls or other surfaces they paint. Moreover, graffiti can lower property values, and cost business owners or taxpayers (in the case of public spaces such as street signs or the Great Wall) millions of dollars to repair.

Do you think graffitists are “placemakers” who contribute to creating a place’s identity? How?

For better or worse, graffiti absolutely contributes to a place’s identity.

Antique graffiti on the ruins of Pompeii and even on American landmarks such as Independence Rock, Wyoming, have become a part of the monuments themselves.

As stated above, graffiti can have an adverse impact on the economic identity of a place. It can lower property values, and cost business owners or taxpayers millions of dollars to repair. Tellingly, most wealthy collectors of graffiti art do not have unsolicited graffiti on their own homes or businesses.

Confession, speaking for myself and not Nat Geo: In addition to being one of the most important and popular artists working today, the British street artist Banksy is also one of my favorites. I think his work is exemplary, thought-provoking “guerrilla geography,” and—forward to about 9:00 in the video—I think Daniel Raven-Ellison would have a hard time not loving this.